Egg Shells
by SnowyRefuge
Summary: Tatsumiya nearly lost all hope after losing Meikai and being betrayed by Old. Then Wadanohara hatched. Rated for Chapter 3 and everything that follows.
1. An Egg

"This is my daughter, Wadanohara."

Tatsumiya was at a loss for words.

Before her, sat on a velvet cushion atop of a marble podium, was a pearly white egg. Meikai, a soft and proud smile on his lips, stood behind it with his hands gently holding the sides.

This certainly hadn't been what she'd expected to see when Meikai requested that she and Old come to see something that he'd brought back from his most recent adventure at the surface.

"An egg..." Tatsumiya's eyes stitched together in confusion. "Your daughter...?"

"Well, I'm not _completely_ sure it's a girl yet." Meikai laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Just have that feeling, you know?"

"What the hell, Meikai?" Old was staring at the egg with just as confused an expression as Tatsumiya's, but angrier. "I thought you were virgin. How'd you get a _kid_?"

"Old!" Tatsumiya stiffened. "Don't make such vulgar assumptions about Lord Meikai!"

Old shifted his glare toward her. "I'm sorry that I was apparently the only one here who thought he was too much of a pussy to put his dick in a woman's-"

Horrified, Tatsumiya screeched. " _Old_!"

"Well, why the hell else wouldn't he have tried to bang you by now?"

" ** _W-What?!_** "

" _I_ would have, if you were always drooling over _me_."

Her face was almost as red as the accents in her hair. "The _audacity_! I would _never_ -"

Meikai interjected before either of them could say anything else. "Please stop teasing her, Old; you know she flusters easily." Tatsumiya looked as if she wanted to argue, and Old seemed to not want to listen. He didn't give either of them a chance."But as for how I got her..." Meikai looked down at the egg in his hands. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, and Wadanohara's mother kind of wants to remain anonymous for now..."

 _Wadanohara's mother_. Tatsumiya felt her heart sink at the words. _Meikai's lover_.

Old looked accusingly at their master. "So you're just going to keep us in the dark about this?"

Meikai bowed. "Really sorry, guys."

Exasperated, Old stormed out of the house.

"Oh, no. I've upset him now." Meikai watched the now-closed door that the shark had exited through only a moment ago.

Tatsumiya shook her head. "He just wishes you could trust us a little more. We _are_ your familiars, after all."

"I know." Meikai sighed. "Trust me; I'd really like to tell you two. You're my best friends, but..."

 _Friends_.

Tatsumiya looked off to the side, suddenly feeling depressed at the word. "Yes, well... Was this all you wanted? To show us... uh... Wadanohara?"

Meikai straighten himself up. "Oh, no. I also wanted to ask for you and Old to help look after her. I can't carry Wadanohara around with me everywhere I go, and I can't be home all the time." He finally released the egg from his hold and let his hands sit at his sides. "There may soon come a time when someone will think that the best way to get to me is through her, and I'd like to rely on you and Old to help keep her safe."

Tatsumiya bowed to him. "Of course, Lord Meikai."

He laughed and pat her on the shoulder. "Didn't I tell you to drop all of the 'Lord' stuff? We're friends, right?"

 _Friends._

 _Just friends._

"Oh, yes. My apologies."

He gave her a small smile. "Now, why don't you introduce yourself to her?"

Confused, Tatsumiya tilted her head. "Huh?"

"Introduce yourself to Wadanohara."

His smile was so innocent, she wasn't sure if he was joking or not. "I think that's a little unnecessary. It's just an _egg_ right now."

"Oh, nonsense!" He was behind her now, nudging her back in the direction of the egg. "Go on! She doesn't bite. Yet."

"But-"

"There's nothing I'd like more than for my two favorite girls to get along."

Tatsumiya froze.

She knew he didn't mean to be so cruel to her. He was just so thick-headed. But it hurt.

She suddenly lost all the determination to argue and held her hands tightly together in front of herself. "OK, then."

Carefully, she approached the egg and, upon much prompting from Meikai, touched her fingers to its smooth surface.

"Hello, Wadanohara..."

There was no reaction. Of course. It was an _egg_. A round, white, ball-shaped egg.

Still, Meikai was indication for her to keep going.

"My name is Tatsumiya."

Suddenly, she felt something from the inside. The tiniest movement.

Her eyes widened in wonder, and she looked to Meikai. "She kicked! I think she heard me!"

He simply smiled as Tatsumiya turned back to the egg. "Yes. I'm Tatsumiya. Your father's oarfish familiar. Lord Meikai, Old, and I, we're going to take care of you."

Behind her, Meikai was trying to hold in his laughter.


	2. Chapter 1

Meikai was out again, leaving Tatsumiya and Old alone in the house with Wadanohara. The egg had yet to show any signs of hatching, and so it remained on its marble podium in the living room, resting on a cushion.

As the days had passed, Tatsumiya found herself growing more and more fond of the egg, and often found herself laying her hands on its surface, talking and rambling about whatever was going on in the world. " _The Sea King is falling ill, so Princess Uomi and Princess Mikotsu are becoming worried..._ "

Old liked to make fun of her because of this, pointing out that she looked like a made woman, talking to an egg.

" _I've done research,_ " she told him. " _The baby can hear your voice from the inside. It can probably recognize your voice by now, too._ " For a while afterwards, he didn't speak around the egg too often, as if paranoid that he was being eavesdropped on.

Meikai seemed to this that her attention toward the egg was a good trait. " _You'll make a great mother one day, you know._ " If she were ever to say that the compliment hadn't caused her to blush and stumble over her next few sentences, it would be blatant lie.

Now, with Meikai out attending business at the palace, Tatsumiya was rummaging through the fridge while Old sat at the kitchen table. "Aren't many options for breakfast," she muttered. "What do you think?"

Old held his chin in his hands. "Hm, I don't know. I'm kinda feeling _scrambled egg_ , today."

" _Very_ funny." He seemed to be 'craving' eggs a lot lately. "It's just an egg, Old, and Lord Meikai's child. I don't see why you need to be so bitter."

Old huffed, resting his hand on his fist. "Only thing I'm bitter about is the fact that _you're_ not pissed about it."

"What?" Confused, Tatsumiya turned her head to look at him. "Why would I be upset by an _egg_?"

"Oh, _I don't know_ ," Old rolled his eyes. "Maybe the fact that your boyfriend slept with another chick and expects you to take care of the kid."

She bristled, her face slightly pink. "Lord Meikai is my _master_ , not my boyfriend."

"Yeah, but you _want_ him to be your boyfriend, though."

Slowly, Tatsumiya looked away, burying her head back into the fridge. "I respect Lord Meikai's decisions," she said quietly. "All of them. Even if it means he chooses someone else."

Old shrugged. "Think you could do better than that airhead, though."

There was no better person than Meikai, though. At least, that's what Tatsumiya had thought. Still, she remained silent and continued on her search for food.

Old was growing impatient, though. "We still got that pudding from the other day?"

"Yes, but pudding isn't a breakfast food."

He was getting up anyway. "Just look at how many shits I give." He leaned over her, uncomfortably close to her back, and plucked the pudding from the shelf at Tatsumiya's eye level.

Annoyed, Tatsumiya turned around and glared at the shark. He was smirking now, taking exaggeratedly large bites out of the treat.

"I'm going to the store," she announced.

"Grab me something juicy while you're out."

"Well," she said, raising her head up high. "Maybe I _would_ have, if you had said 'please.'"

"Fuck that, Tatsu." Old looked at her disdainfully. "Manners are for pricks."

" _Manners_ ," she corrected him, "are for decent, civilized people."

"Whatever," he waved as she exited the kitchen. "See you later, I guess."

She nodded to him. "Make sure to take care of the egg."

"I'll be sure to make a nice omelette out of it for you."

Tatsumiya made sure to stop by and check on the egg before she left. "Be safe, little one."

She uttered a few words to place a protective barrier around its surface and left.


	3. Chapter 2

The day that the Sea King died had been a great loss to the entire Sea Kingdom, although it hit the sorcerer and his familiars particularly hard.

Meikai spent his time on this day down in the living room, sitting in a chair next pulled up next to his egg, whispering something every now and then. Old and Tatsumiya, on the other hand, spent their time in the bedroom, each one of them on their own bed. Old was laying face-down onto his pillow, muttering things along the lines of "this is bullshit" and "what the fuck". Tatsumiya curled herself into the fetal position with her face in her knees, trying not to cry.

She always was an emotional person, a lot more so than Meikai and Old, at least, but she always tried her best to seem neutral and relaxed around others. Meikai and Old were the only people she felt comfortable enough with to let see her cry.

That was another thing Old liked to tease her about. There wasn't much that he _didn't_ tease her for, honestly.

But there was no teasing today. After all, the three of them had been well acquainted with the Sea Kingdom's royal family, as the Sea King would often employ Meikai for his services. They were always special guests at banquets. They were sometimes invited to the palace just to sit and talk over tea. He liked to pull Tatsumiya off to the side sometimes, just to tell her that he was cheering for her and Meikai.

The Sea King was such a kind, kind man, even if he did seem a little quirky at times.

As her shoulders began to tremble, there was a dip in the bed next to her, and an arm was brought around her shoulders, pulling her against another body. Peeking out, Tatsumiya found that it was, unsurprisingly, Old. He was trying his best not to look at her and instead keep his eyes on the stairway in the corner of the room. He was failing rather miserably, though, and kept glancing back at her.

She couldn't help but let out a choked half-laugh, half-sob.

She always knew that Old cared about her and Meikai; he just never showed it. So when the days came that he did let himself show a little bit of affection, Tatsumiya couldn't help cracking a smile.

He took another glance at her as she wiped her eyes. "You _still_ crying?"

Tatsumiya shook her head. "I think I've mostly got it out of my system... Thank you."

His gaze lingered on her for a few more seconds as she closed her eyes. Then they darted away again. "For what?"

"For being sweet."

He huffed, but didn't let go of her. "So, what are you thinking about Uomi?"

Soon after the Sea King's death, it was announced that he said in his will that, of his two daughters, he wished for his elder child, Uomi, to be the new ruler.

"Princess Uomi is a clever and kind girl," Tatsumiya said carefully. "I believe she'll make a fine leader for the kingdom."

"I think it's bullshit."

She opened her eyes and looked to her friend in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Old clenched her shoulder tightly. "I mean, Mikotsu was always the kid that respected the old man more. Never argued with him once. Why the hell'd he pick Uomi?"

"Well..." Tatsumiya trailed off, trying to craft her words carefully. "I believe that's exactly why he chose Princess Uomi. Princess Mikotsu, while very doting on her father, never really stopped to think for herself; she always followed him blindly. Princess Uomi, on the other hand, would always carefully observe her father's decisions and decide how she felt about them on her own. She always pushes for what she believes is best for the kingdom."

"She doesn't show loyalty," he spat.

"Sometimes the best show of loyalty is to let someone know when you think they are doing wrong."

"It's bullshit," he insisted.

Old always _was_ rather stubborn.

Chuckling, Tatsumiya pushed him away from her and laid down on the bed, watching the ceiling. He was still sitting beside her, watching the corner of the room. Slowly, her smile melted away. "Either way, I feel bad for both of them. They're such sweet girls. And both so young."

Old didn't say anything, and she took this as a sign that the conversation was over.

Tatsumiya closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Warning: Violence and non-consensual sexual themes.**_

There was something wrong with Old.

He was able to sense it in himself long before the war began, yet he chose to ignore it for the longest time.

It had started with Tatsumiya, how she walked so elegantly, kept herself poised like a "proper lady". Her hands were tiny, her eyes big and round. He'd have been lying through his teeth to say that he didn't find it relatively attractive for the longest of times, so he never would have bothered if asked. She was hot. He would have sex with her if if she ever showed interest. He wouldn't deny that.

And there was nothing wrong with that.

Then there was a point where he found himself enjoying the way she flustered easily, and so he teased her often about tiny, stupid things. And, of course, she fell for them all, becoming a red-faced, stuttering mess and losing that lady-like persona that she tried so hard to maintain. The word "adorable" often came to mind.

Nothing wrong with this, either.

About a year or so after the two of them had become Meikai's familiars, he began to notice something else about his thoughts toward the little oarfish. He often found himself wanting to comfort her when he came across her crying, but he never was good with that sort of thing, so he usually left her alone. He felt a pang of annoyance any time he saw her sneaking glances at Meikai. Every now and then, he'd experience short impulses of wanting to do things with her. Hold her hand. Hug her from behind, when she wasn't expecting it. Kiss her. Have her clutching him in ecstasy at night. A number of things, really.

This wasn't really the problem, either, even if he did try to dismiss these impulses and ignore them. Affection wasn't something that came easy to Old. Besides, Tatsumiya had never once looked at him like _that_.

It was always Meikai.

Not him.

The first warning bell that had popped into his head came when Meikai returned home with an egg (his daughter, he had told them), and the faint expression of hurt on Tatsumiya's face had made Old want to rip the egg from his hands and throw it to the floor.

It was unsettling.

The second was when he had told her that she could do better than Meikai. There were other people out there that would appreciate her better. People that would look at her like a woman, not a friend. There was always _him_.

But she had paid the comment no heed. There was no one better than Meikai. No one that could live up to her incredibly high fucking standards. She would never look at Old in that way.

And there had been a little voice in the back of his head, whispering to him:

Make _her look at you._

 _Fuck her._

 _Right here and now._

 _Whether she wants it or not._

It had only been a brief moment in which it was there, but once the thought had entered his head, Old couldn't shake how ashamed he had been of it.

The third time one of these thoughts entered his head had been what convinced him of what he'd been fearing.

She had been crying and he, as he oftentimes wanted but didn't have the courage to do, took her into his arms for comfort. Her body was, unsurprisingly, very cold- she was a deep-sea fish, after all- but it felt nice to have his arm around her, her body next to his.

And she'd fallen asleep next to him.

It wasn't as if Old had never seen her sleeping before; on the contrary, they both slept in the same room as Meikai, just in separate beds. But he'd never seen her sleeping from so close, with her hair fanned out around her head and her lips moving lightly as she breathed.

He wasn't sure _why_ he'd thought what he did. All he knew was that his sudden desire had lasted for more than a few moments, and that he had sat on the bed, seriously considering something so horrible for almost a full minute.

He wanted to wake her up by bruising her lips and shoving his tongue so far down her throat she would suffocate, to to fuck her so hard she'd be bleeding between the legs and unable to walk for days. He could hear her screaming and crying for help in his head, and it was making him dizzy with excitement.

And that was when he realized that there was something very wrong with him.

After that, holding violent and sexual thoughts towards Tatsumiya became a regular occurrence. He'd feel the desire to take her lovely, long, white hair and cute little red antennae in his hands and pull on them until they tore out of her scalp. He'd want to dig his teeth into her skin and watch her bleed and listen to her scream. When they were alone, he'd want to force her onto the kitchen table and tear into her breasts with his hands while she cried and begged him to stop thrusting his hips into her. At night, he'd dream of slitting her throat and having his way with her corpse.

Even worse, he would be turned on by these thoughts, and would often run off to the bathroom to resolve the issue.

There was something _terribly_ wrong with him.

It wasn't just Tatsumiya, either. Meikai wasn't very safe in his thoughts, either, particularly where Tatsumiya was involved. A lingering gaze on her part, a conversation about sex or love with Meikai...

 _Bash his head in._

 _Rip his limbs apart._

 _Give them to the oarfish as a gift._

 _Watch her cry._

 _Then shove a knife between her thighs._

That damned egg had become another point of his sudden obsession with violence. He'd see Tatsumiya talking to it every now and then, her tiny, red fingernails gliding gently across its pearly surface, and feel a sudden burst of anger.

 _Smash it._

 _Break it open and tear the throat out of the screaming baby inside._

 _And force that bitch Tatsumiya to eat the shell._

Admittedly, though, it was mostly directed at Tatsumiya.

He really should be disgusted with himself. This was horribly wrong. All of it.

And, yet, it somehow felt right.


	5. Chapter 4

Tatsumiya loved dancing, loved music. The rhythm, the harmonies, the way the sound echoed and rippled through the water... She loved all of it.

So when she learned- a long, long time ago, when she had first become one of Meikai's familiars- that her sworn master played piano, she loved him even more.

Even in the hard times following the Sea King's death, she, Old, and Meikai were able to bond over the piano. Meikai would simply play, eyes almost closed, a smile gracing his lips, as his fingers ran over the keys and the music echoed down the halls of the house. And Tatsumiya would dance to it, switching between different styles each time, her body swaying to the rhythm or her joints jutting out in pronounced movements. Old liked to watch and listen mostly, slumped in a chair in the corner of the music room with one eye closed and the other watching Tatsumiya's limbs as they flowed with the song.

Her favorite dancing styles were ballet, lyrical, traditional Chinese, tango, waltz... To many to name, actually. Her guilty pleasure, however, was belly dancing. Something about the way the body was used- the hips, the stomach, even the chest- and the way that it so expertly and almost erotically used femininity to its advantage seemed so strange and beautiful to her.

Not that she would ever try it- not after the time she'd confided in this to her two friends.

Meikai, although looking like he wasn't sure how to react to this, had been fairly kind and receptive to the idea. Old, however, had crushed any ideas she may have been envisioning.

 _"You don't have the body for that kind of shit,"_ he had told her, tossing the words out carelessly. _"You're like a stick. Small ass, thin hips, and no belly."_

She never mentioned it again, and Meikai had been very cross with his shark familiar for the next day or so.

Not that this stopped her from dancing. She still loved music very dearly.

Meikai was at the piano again, a week after the Sea King's death, his fingers sliding over the keys, and Tatsumiya and Old had stopped what they were doing to join him in the music room. It had been a while since they'd all come together to just relax for a bit.

It was ballet today, her movements smooth, slow, precise. Old watched her from his usual place, a chair in the corner, while Meikai smiled down at the keys under his fingers.

She missed this.

She hadn't noticed Old walking up from behind until he'd tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, surprised, to see him holding out a hand.

She blinked.

This was new.

Old coughed, looked away from her. "Well, it's a waltz, right?"

Oh. The song _was_ called the Waltz of Destiny. Laughing, she took his extended arm, and he placed his other hand behind her back. Gently, she rested her arm atop his. "Have you ever waltzed before?"

"Nope."

"Then let me teach you. Let's start with the box step." She moved her right foot a step backwards. "Just follow my lead. Put your left foot forward... Yes, just like that. Now bring your right foot to the side- no, don't stop it right next to your left- to the side- yes, perfect. Now bring your left foot next to it to close the gap."

Old moved very awkwardly, his feet crossing and stumbling over one another. He kept looking down at his feet, cursing whenever he missed a step or crushed Tatsumiya's foot with his own.

She couldn't help letting another laugh slip past her lips, and Old turned his head to glare at her. "No, no, you're doing well," she assured him. "Really, I'm sorry. This song's just a bit fast-paced for beginners."

Grumbling, he looked off to the side.

Once the song came to a close and Old took his final clumsy step, Tatsumiya turned back to their accompanist. "Oh, Meikai, could you play the Tree Shade Waltz?"

"Of course; I was just thinking the same." Nodding, the sorcerer complied, and the song began.

"There we go," Tatsumiya nodded, closing her eyes in concentration. "Much slower. Now just pay attention to the rhythm, Old. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three..."

With the slower tempo, Old caught the hang of the steps much quicker, and by the end of the song, he'd completely caught on. He was so concentrated on the steps, though, that he hadn't noticed when the music ended and just kept on going, pulling Tatsumiya along with him.

Meikai was trying to hide his own laugh, covering his mouth up with his arm, but a few of his chuckles still made it past his lips, and the sound caught Old's attention. Abruptly, he stopped moving and tore his arms away from Tatsumiya before making his way back to the chair in the corner of the room.

"You did very well for your first time," she smiled to her companion, who just looked away from her. "Next time, I should show you how to turn. It's a little more complicated, but makes the dance a little more exciting."

Old just continued looking away from her while Meikai smiled at her over from the piano. "You really are a great teacher, Tatsumiya," he said.

He face turned slightly pink from the compliment, and she found herself playing with her hair, trying to hide her face. "Thank you..."

"Maybe you could teach Wadanohara how to dance, once she hatches," he suggested.

Tatsumiya nodded, smiling. "I'd like that."

She noticed a certain horrible look cross Old's face as the egg was mentioned. He still hadn't warmed up to it, but she had to keep telling herself that he would eventually. It was Meikai's child. Their family.

And one day that child, whether it be a girl as Meikai suspected or a boy, would be walking down streets with the three of them, holding Tatsumiya's hand and taking turns riding atop Meikai and Old's shoulders. They would all be together, happy. She _had_ to believe it.

* * *

If only things could have been that simple.


	6. Chapter 5

**Warning: Sexual assault**

Weeks had passed since the Sea King's death, and Old still wasn't quite sure what was wrong with him. He found himself caring less and less by the day, though, and instead preoccupied himself with thoughts about Tatsumiya.

He'd found out that he didn't _want_ to hurt her, necessarily, but he certainly wouldn't mind doing so if he tried making advances toward her that she rejected. His best fantasies were the ones in which she would be begging for him to bite her harder, or where her eyes would be alight with excitement and pain and ecstasy any time he would slam her back and head against a wall. Ever since she had taught him to waltz, he would imagine her dancing closely to him, her body pressed against his, crying and moaning any time he would dig his fingers into the small of her back.

It was all about him getting what he wanted, in the end: her attention, her body, and, to an extent, her affection. If she decided that she felt the same way that he did, then it would be a bonus, but what he mostly wanted was for her to just look at him in a way other than that of a friend. That and to be able to feel out her curves, smell her sleek white hair, fit himself inside of her...

The thought made him feel dizzy.

It was almost becoming torturous, watching her walk in that elegant manner, her hands tucked together inside her sleeves and her back held carefully straight and dignified. Even worse was to watch her dance, her limbs elegant and graceful, her eyes closed and peaceful. Those big golden eyes of hers would sometimes wander over to him before drifting back to Meikai with a small smile on her pale lips; a deep part of him wanted to bite down on those lips and paint them a pretty red to match her hair and clothes.

He found himself appreciating more things about her than he used to, as well- the long lashes on her eyes, the thinness of her lips, the way her long hair would flow about behind her in the water. It wasn't as if he never noticed them before, but this sudden change in his thoughts brought him to watch these things more closely, to admire them more than he previously had. Perhaps his favorite thing to watch would be the rise and fall of her breasts as she slept. Steady. Rhythmic. Calm.

Whenever he saw the movement from his own bed in the dead of the night, it never failed to catch his attention.

He wanted to touch them, oh, so badly. But while Tatsumiya was a heavy sleeper, Meikai was a light one; there was no way of getting past the sorcerer without waking him up.

* * *

He had been at the palace with Meikai, on business with the princess Uomi, while the oarfish had stayed back at the house to watch the egg. As it had grown late into the night, Meikai had spared Old the boredom of dealing with politics and released him.

He had been more hurried and excited on his swim home than he liked to admit, but the thought of being completely alone with Tatsumiya for the first time in days had left him bursting with prickling and tingling nerves.

As the door to the house opened, he found the sweet sound of singing hitting his ears. She was sitting in the living room, a chair pulled up next to the pedestal with the egg on it, with her head pulled back toward the ceiling. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth continued to move slightly, letting her words slip through.

 _"Mollusks sleep at night, their pearls all glowing white. The blue of the sea dimming, while the swordfish still their swimming."_

It was a popular lullaby in the Sea Kingdom. Old approached her, moving slowly, and while he was sure that she had heard him, she gave no indication of it.

 _"Oh, see the sea, all black and blue and calm. With lulling waves, our ocean saves for the light held in your palm."_

He has standing over her now, hands on the back of her chair, and watched the small movements of her lips as she continued the song.

 _"Oh, see the sea, stars reflected over your head. They shine a light to calm your mind while I sing you to bed."_

Her breath was cool, the bubbles that left her mouth floating up and popping on his face.

 _"Now go to sleep, sweet child, and let your dreams run wild. When next you open your small eyes, you will see long awaited light..."_

She let out a small sigh, then opened her eyes, smiling up at Old. "Hello."

He felt a sudden urge to lean down and press his lips to hers.

It was the first time in a while that his thoughts toward Tatsumiya had been so innocent, and the thought comforted him. But then his attention was brought to her throat, long and stretched out and exposed, and he wanted to cover it with kisses and bruises and bites. Maybe even squeeze it between his fingers...

He swallowed something stuck at his throat. "Hey."

"Where's Lord Meikai?"

Old tried to hide his sudden flare of annoyance. "Still with Uomi; he let me go home." He paused, then moved his hands from the back of the chair to her shoulders. "Were you seriously singing to an _egg_?"

Her cheeks flushed a light red color. "Didn't I already tell you? The baby can hear from the inside of-"

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard that dumb excuse a million times."

She pouted, rather unladylike. "It's not dumb."

"Yeah, it is." Another pause. He wiped a long strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face. "You know it's not _yours_ , right? You don't have to act like you're its mother."

"I'm not acting like I'm-" She stopped herself mid-sentence and thought better than to lie, not only to Old, but to herself. "I just doubt I'll ever be a mother, myself," she said, lowering her head to look at the egg she was sitting in front of. "I'd like to play the part for a little while, I suppose."

Old rested his chin on the top of her head. "Who says you can't have a kid?"

She held her hands together and shook her head. "Well, even if Lord Meikai _did_ return my feelings, he's a human; I'm a fish... It would never work out, really."

He suddenly wanted to curse and scream at her, to force her to the floor and give her a damned egg himself.

Instead, he scowled and sunk down a little, placing his arms tightly around her waist. She stiffened as he started drawing circles with his thumbs into her against her hips through her dress. "Just get over Meikai already," he grumbled against her hair. "Find someone else. I'm sure you can get knocked up by other fish, like koi, or angler fish, or swordfish, or, hell, maybe even _sharks_."

The sudden rigidness in her body intensified with the not-so-subtle suggestion, and she stood, pushing his arms off of her.

"I'm tired," she muttered, avoiding looking at him in the eye. "I'll see you in the morning."

She didn't wait for a response before hurrying up to their room.

Old watched her go, his scowl deepening. How like her it was to just ignore an idea that she didn't like.

He slumped himself into the chair that Tatsumiya had been sitting in a moment ago, glowering at the egg.

It was glowing a faint blue color, the result of a protective barrier Tatsumiya had made a habit of putting around it. It meant he couldn't smash it, as he now felt the impulse to do.

That damn egg.

The egg that Tatsumiya loved so much.

Meikai's kid.

The child of a woman Meikai didn't trust them enough to tell the name of.

It was bullshit.

Old felt his fingers twitching, and his thoughts briefly flashed back to the oarfish. If he could get her to drop the barrier, he could smash the little abomination that was sitting on a cushioned pedestal. No longer would it be stealing Tatsumiya's affection; maybe she would even be grateful to him for destroying it, releasing her from this unobtainable fantasy in which Meikai would look toward her with the eyes of a lover. Or maybe she would hate him, curse his name, and go down kicking and screaming and crying while he forced himself between her legs, pounding her so hard into the guts that she would feel numb by the time he was done with her.

 _What are you waiting for?_

 _That pesky sorcerer is gone._

 _She's probably asleep right now._

 _Just do it._

He shouldn't. He _really_ shouldn't. Listening to voices in his head couldn't lead to anything good. He knew this.

Still, he found his feet trudging up the stairs and his hand quickly locking the bedroom door behind him.

She was in bed, as he expected, with the sheets pulled up neatly, just above her shoulders. Her breathing was steady, rhythmic, calm.

Silently, he crept up next to her bedside and began to pull down the covers, ready to latch his fingers around her throat. If she woke up, screaming and resisting, he would squeeze and squeeze and squeeze until her throat was nothing but disgusting meat and the waters would cloud with red.

She was in her usual nightgown, a little red one that sagged over top of her, but it at least left her shoulders and the bottom half of her pale legs uncovered.

He could see her breasts rising and falling with each breath she took. Steady. Rhythmic. Calm.

Carefully, he grasped the bottom of her nightgown, fingers grazing the skin of her leg, and resisted the urge to bite down into her thigh.

His eyes darted to her face.

Sleeping. Sleeping. Mouth breathing in and out, ever so slightly.

He lifted the bottom of her nightgown, guiding it up her body, and carefully observed everything: her plain white underwear hanging from her thin hips, her flat stomach, the small indent of her bellybutton, and then, finally, the curves of her breasts, expanding with her breaths. He placed a hand on her hip and let it travel upward, feeling all of her tiny curves, before letting it land and rest on the skin of her breast. Soft. Round. Small, but it fit comfortably in the palm of his hand. Like tiny pillows.

 _Shred them._

 _Watch the feathers fly out._

Ignoring the voice, Old looked to the door, listening. Nothing. Then his eyes went back to Tatsumiya's face. Still asleep.

He took one final glance at the door before climbing on top of her, straddling her hips and cupping a breast with each hand. He could feel her heart, beating slowly against his fingers through her skin.

He held his breath as he rubbed one of her breasts, slowly and gently, and she began to stir. He awaited, ready to take hold of her throat, when she settled with her head to the side. Exhaling, he leaned forward, pressing his face in her neck, breathing in her scent. Clean, soapy. Her hair smelled like roses. One of his hands ran through her hair. White and smooth and silky and beautiful.

He ran a thumb over her nipple. Gave a light pinch.

Tatsumiya sucked in a little air. He could feel her heart rate increase, but only slightly.

Drowsily, she muttered, "Lord Meikai..."

The name stung Old like a dagger. She never thought of him, not even in her wildest dreams.

Bitterly, he sunk his teeth into the side of her neck, not enough to cause any visible pain from her. Oarfish tasted pretty bad, were borderline inedible, really, but the fact that it was _her_ made the act of not making her bleed almost unbearable.

Once again, he rubbed her breasts, gave them soft squeezes. When, still, she didn't stir, he moved a hand down to her hip, thumb hooking onto her underwear. Only then did he hesitate a moment.

If he entered her, there was no way she wouldn't wake up; he doubted _anyone_ was that heavy a sleeper.

But the thought exited his head quickly. No worries. If she woke up and resisted, he would just take her, anyway, and suffocate her afterwards. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

He tugged her underwear down and couched over her, breathing heavily as his fingers worked to undo the zipper on his pants.

 _Fuck her._

He pulled his pants down.

 _So hard she'll forget how to breathe._

Placed a hand between her legs. Began coaxing them apart.

 _So hard she'll scream and cry and beg for more._

Positioned himself between her thighs, clutching her hips.

 _So hard you'll make her love you._

And just as he was about to begin penetrating her entrance-

"Guys?"

Old jumped as the door handle started jiggling, someone on the other side trying to get in. The confused whisper had only confirmed it: Meikai was home.

Cursing, he pulled his pants back up, fixed Tatsumiya's clothes, and pulled her blanket up as far as he could, trying to hide the bite mark he'd left on her neck.

Hands trembling and still cursing, Old smoothed down the front of his shirt. When he finally went to open the door, Meikai had looked just as confused as he sounded, brow furrowed and eyes wide.

The only doors they ever locked were the bathrooms.

They had no reason to lock doors.

They never locked doors.

 _Never_.

Meikai stared at him, at his large, dilated eyes. Old hoped he wouldn't take notice of the bulge in his pants.

"Old, why was-"

"It was nothing." Old tried his best to hold the sorcerer's gaze. "Tatsumiya was just changing and forgot to unlock the door."

Meikai didn't say anything else, but an unspoken question was still lingering in his eyes: _Why would she change with you in the room?_

He left any other questions unanswered, though, and pushed past Meikai, into the hallway.

"Hey- Where are you going?"

"Out."

He didn't wait for a reply, just left the room, descended the stairs, and exited the house. He had a boner to take care of, and he didn't want to get rid of it on his own, this time.


	7. Chapter 6

He met her at the bar.

Her hair was long and white, much like Tatsumiya's, but her eyes were a bright blue, and she wasn't a oarfish, but a salmon shark.

While the two of them were slightly intoxicated, they both, at least, seemed to have the right amount of sense to navigate the streets of Deep Sea Town and back to her home.

It was a small house, just one story, with only a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. Still, there were pictures everywhere, of her and a man, a tiger shark by the looks of it. Sometimes they were alone in the photos, but in most of them, they were standing together, one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders or her sitting in his lap, arms hanging around his neck and her lips planted on his temple.

Old ventured to guess from the ring on her finger that the man was her husband, but it didn't stop him from being any less rough with her, nor her with him.

They were both mostly teeth and nails, clawing and biting at one another's skin, pulling each other's hair. By the time they had gotten to the actual sex, they were covered in scratches and bruises and bites and blood, and, _fuck,_ did it feel _good_.

They spent some time afterwards simply lying on top of her bed, staring at the ceiling, breathing heavily.

There were several minutes of silence before she crawled back over to him, body pressed against his side, mouth on his shoulder. Kissing. Biting.

He wanted to imagine she was Tatsumiya, but her lips were thicker, her breasts much larger, and she wasn't serving as a very good substitution for the oarfish.

Lazily, his eyes drifted over to the clock on the wall, amongst the sea of picture frames. Two in the morning. "When you thinking he'll be back?" He really didn't feel like getting in the middle of some sort of martial dispute.

"Not for a _long_ while," she breathed against his skin. Her teeth sunk into his skin, drawing blood, and she lapped at it with her tongue. "He's never home; probably out sleeping with other women."

While she continued her biting and kissing, Old rolled his head to look at the ceiling once more. "Isn't that what you're doing?" He asked. She looked up from her work. "Sleeping with other men?"

Her mouth drew into a tight line, and she held herself up on her elbows, her arm pressed against his. "Yeah, well you're the first one," she admitted, staring at his face. "It's just, like..." Her mouth moved, but no sound came out, like she was trying to find words. Finally, she started speaking again. "He tells me he loves me, every day, and so we get married, but then, we just... lose it." She sighed, rolling onto her back and joining Old in staring at the ceiling. "Maybe I'm just hoping he'll find out, and that it'll make him want me again. Or maybe I just want to fill the void."

What a horribly lonely woman.

Perhaps she was telling him that he was just a substitution for her husband, but Old couldn't find himself caring. After all, that's what _she_ was to him: a substitution, a distraction.

He pulled himself up slightly, crouching over the woman, and ran his hands through her long white hair. While it was matted and tangled from his roughness, it at least seemed familiar, beautiful and Tatsumiya-like.

"Wanna go for a second round?"

She blinked up at him, and then a tiny smile crept up her lips. "Why not?"

* * *

He couldn't remember if he'd used protection or not.

He didn't find himself particularly caring, though.


End file.
